Pregnancy nutrition and cookbooks

What to Eat When You're Expecting
by Arlene Eisenberg, Heidi E. Murkoff, Sandee E. Hathaway

   This book provides concrete guidelines for a really great diet to maintain during pregnancy. It is designed to maximize the nourishment to the baby and minimize mom's chance of permanent weight gain. It's been very helpful to me because it is so much more detailed than what I can learn during doctor's visits that are consumed with other business, or from most other pregnancy manuals. Pregnancy is one of the high-risk times for permanent weight gain for American women, and obesity is about to outstrip smoking as the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. Some Amazon reviewers report that the high standards of the diet frustrate them and make them feel badly about themselves. For me, if I don't live up to all the aspects of the diet every day it doesn't bother me - I'm not living up to all the other advice everyone and their aunt is giving me about pregnancy, either. But I do find it reassuring to have a source of concrete, specific, and detailed information about an excellent diet to follow as much as is practical for me.

Eating for Two: The Complete Guide to Nutrition During Pregnancy
by Mary Abbott Hess, Anne Elise Hunt, Roy M. Pitkin

   Very sound and accurate account of nutrition for pregnancy. Very concise and thorough in their discussion of each nutrient needed for pregnancy. Excellent discussion of special nutritional needs for vegetarians and diabetics. I would recommend this book to all my pregnant clients.

Nutrition for a Healthy Pregnancy, Revised Edition: The Complete Guide to Eating Before, During, and After Your Pregnancy
by Elizabeth Somer

  I am still in the "planning" phase and have been searching high and low for a book to prep me for pregnancy. This book has been wonderful. I agree with the other reviewer who said that this was certainly a wake-up call. I don't know why but it never dawned on me how many nutrients the baby needs to grow and develop. I found the guidelines easy to follow and the menus and recipes included in the back of the book to be great.

Pregnancy Nutrition: Good Health for You and Your Baby
by The American Dietetic Association, Elizabeth M. Ward

   Pregnancy Nutrition contains the most recent recommendations for eating right when pregnant. It's full of practical, easy-to-use advice about nutrition, exercise, complications of pregnancy, and post-partum fitness, as well as meal plans and healthy recipes. Pregnancy Nutrition is written by an experienced registered dietitian and mother of three.